The end of the year is now upon us and just as we pointed out in our Top Ten Xbox 360 Games of 2011, it’s been a cracker. While you’re all still working your way through that list of titles, game developers everywhere are hard at work creating their replacements. We’ve taken a look ahead at some of the upcoming games in 2012 and compiled our most anticipated titles into a handy little list. Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments section below!
10. Minecraft
Yup! This pixely little wonder will be hitting XBLA in spring 2012 and we can’t wait. We plugged our Xbox controller into the PC and (after 20 minutes of configuration) got a pretty good idea of how it’ll work on game consoles. The answer, by the way, is pretty damn well! Let the creativity begin.
9. SSX: Deadly Descents
We thought SSX was dead. This is, in our opinion, one of the most underachieving franchises of the last decade. Critics raved about its quality and its developer’s peers showered it with awards, but it never really sold in volume. We hope it works out (commercially) for EA this time round, purely because we want to see more!
8. Borderlands 2
Borderlands had us hooked with its 4-player roleplaying shooter type style going on and, from what we have seen of the sequel so far, our partners will be watching TV alone again… upstairs, cause we want ‘the big TV’.
7. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings was released in August of this year on PC and got glowing reviews on all fronts, achieving a MetaCritic score of 88/100 from 75 reviews. This bodes well for the Xbox 360 release and if the few bugs and minor mechanical flaws are ironed out then we could very well have another huge RPG release on the Xbox 360, although we doubt it will challenge Skyrim for the crown.
6. The Inevitable Call of Duty Release
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Activision is going to force another installment of the COD franchise onto store shelves within the next 12 months. With Modern Warfare 3 taking some pretty damning criticism, the developers will want to (hopefully!) prove they’re capable of more than rehash after rehash.
5. Tomb Raider
Lara Croft is an iconic figure in gaming and her return has us pretty pumped. In this prequel Lara is an inexperienced adventurer who is shipwrecked on an island with nothing but materials scavenged from the wreck itself. It’s not about exploration this time, it’s about survival.
4. Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD
This one was only announced on Saturday. With the promise of the Tony Hawk franchise returning to its foundations no rail, stairwell or sidewalk will be safe for pedestrian use.
3. Bioshock Infinite
We may be looking to the future with this article, but we’ll be going back 100 years with BioShock Infinite and onto Columbia, the flying city. With the quality of the franchise so far we have every right to expect great things from Bioshock Infinite in 2012.
2. Grand Theft Auto V
The eagerly anticipated GTA V! There is yet to be a GTA title that hasn’t provided us with hundreds of hours of entertaining gameplay. Without a doubt one of the top three franchises in the history of gaming (yes, we rate it that highly), so again, our expectations are high.
1. Halo 4
A fitting number one. Halo: Reach left many fans satisfied but looking for a little more and while it was entertaining, Combat Evolved: Anniversary was little more than a graphics overhaul of the release that started it all. 343 will have to prove that they are capable of releasing a title that lives up to the expectations of the Halo franchise’s loyal fan base, but they have both the time and the resources to pull it off.
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